The present invention provides for binaural and/or stereophonic sensing and reproduction of sound. In binaural recording, a pair of microphones is placed inside a model of a human head which includes external ears and ear canals. Each microphone is placed approximately where the ear drum is located. The recording is then played back through headphones, to maintains separate channels without mixing or crosstalk. Thus, each of the listener's tympanic membrane is driven with a replica of the auditory signal it would have experienced at the recording location. The result is an accurate duplication of the auditory spatiality that would have been heard by the listener placed where the microphones were located. True binaural recordings have remained laboratory and audiophile curiosities and have not been adopted.
A seemingly unrelated problem exists with respect to handsfree devices. Numerous advantages are associated with handsfree devices which make them desirable in various situations, including when they are used in combination with cell phones. In addition, the use of handsfree devices can promote privacy, to some extent. Despite these well-recognized advantages and benefits of handsfree devices, problems remain. Due to the discomfort of handsfree devices, and the need to hear environmental devices, handsfree devices to date have focused on reproducing sound in only one ear.